Wednesday, August 17, 2005

A superb letter recently appeared in the Western Mail by a Mr. Keith Parry from Cardiff. I couldn't agree more. It's about time Wales had a Cricket team, and represantation at the Olympics.

Sir- Your excellent columnist Mario Basini argues that the Welsh should support the England cricket team on the grounds that historically we haven't had a national cricket team. (Western Mail, August 13) Alas I think he's wrong here. Wales is a nation and should have national teams in all sports. It really is pathetic for Welsh sports people to scrabble about for crumbs off the English table. "Oh goody! We've managed to get two players in the England cricket team or four in the Lions."

Wales should have her own national cricket team. Surely it would make more sense for England to play us than Zimbabwe or Sri Lanka. In the 1908 Olympic Games we had a Welsh team. Come 2008 we should have one again. Its a question of pride in your country, this is Wales not England.The words "Britain" and "British" are confidence tricks played on the Welsh to get them to support England.

Keith Parry Preswylfa Street,Cardiff

This follows a superb letter by Hedd Ladd-Lewis that appeared in the same paper a few weeks ago, opposing the British Labour Party's new 'anti-terrorism' legislation.

SIR - As a Welsh nationalist and republican, I do not hold any allegiance whatsoever to the English Monarchy. I dislike being called "British" and I have never stood to "God Save the Queen". Nor do I hold any allegiance to Prince Charles, who was foisted on the Welsh nation in 1969 by the English state, aided and abetted by a gang of Welsh quislings.

I also dislike the flying or the waving of the Union Jack in Wales, which is a provocative symbol to any decent Welshman or woman of our subjugation by our English neighbours. By expressing these firmly held beliefs, will I now be liable to prosecution for treachery due to the very ill-thought out and highly dubious legislation which is shortly to be passed by the present Labour administration?

HEDD LADD-LEWIS Heol Alan, Llandeilo

The Western Mail, run by the Labourite British Mirror, doesn't often publish such letters (Even though they are more than happy to publish letters attacking the Welsh people, and the Welsh language!). I hope that these letters therefore show a shift in policy on their behalf.

The fact that I mentioned that Wales has a cricket team in no way implies that I think that it is good enough. I am not an expert on the politics of sport but I understand that Wales has its own amateur cricket association and is not subject to the diktats of the ECB.

That the team is amateur and not in the same league as England is, I suspect, historical and says more about the quality of their players than anything else. When I came across them a few years back they had a number of players who either had played for Glamorgan professionally, or who were out of contract.

You will note that they play in the minor counties league. Effectively, Glamorgan act as the professional cricket side for Wales.

What I object to is that the premier National side for the British Isles continues to call itself England when it contains a number of Welsh players, in particular Geraint Jones and Simon Jones, who are key to the teams success.

Would you be willing to run a campaign to get individual test and one day sides for Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland as in rugby?

Wales' team would obviously be made of many proffesionals, mostly from Glamorgan + Geraint Jones + with some research there might be quite a few more Welsh qualified players playing proffesionaly?

The rest of the side would be made from amature players. This would increase the popularity of the sport massively within the Celtic nations, and in the long term, hopefully Wales will be able to field a fully proffesional side.

As a small country, we have a long tradition of capping players in other sports who do not play at the highest level club wise. Football would be the best example of this of course.

This would be a much better option than getting one GB team, as it would create more international teams, and would create superb David v Goliath, Wales v England matches that everyone in Wales can enjoy.

"The words "Britain" and "British" are confidence tricks played on the Welsh to get them to support England"

But who are these tricks played by? Desperate Scottish and Welsh politicians such as Gordon Brown, Charles Kennedy, Peter Hain who seem to be frightened that the voice of English nationalism is on the rise.Then there are the Tories sticking to their outdated Unionist policies when most Scots and Welsh can't stand them.

I'm an English nationalist and I certainly don't want the support of the Welsh as I'm sure you don't want ours. What next? Wales win grand slam, a great victory for Britain?

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We are proud Welsh Nationalists not affiliated to any political party, dedicated to exposing the corruption, and failure of the three main British Nationalist Parties in Wales (Labour, Conservatives and Lib Dems).